Florida had the red wave no other state saw. Here’s what we did right | Opinion

Ron DeSantis was reelected by almost 20 points as the “red wave” crashed through Florida. However, that wave failed to extend nationally.

Why? Because quality candidates and proven results matter.

In Florida, a well-run campaign, great ads, spot-on messaging and a weak opponent all contributed to an historic Republican win. However, that narrative sells Florida’s chief executive short. The ultimate answer for DeSantis’ stunning success is that Floridians rewarded him with a second term because he protected freedom for all residents, for having our backs, time and time again. DeSantis has proven to be a bold and highly competent governor. Quality and results matter.

Nationwide, the Republican lineup listed heavily toward outsider, first-time contestants. Those candidates came close but failed, while those who lead and served their voters were rewarded. As an example, New Hampshire voters overwhelmingly supported the reelection of Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, who also supported freedom over lockdowns, by 15 points, but the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate lost by almost 10 points. Candidate quality and a history of results matter.

Sounds simple enough. How leaders address issues that matter is paramount when voters cast their ballots. This is particularly important in swaying independents. Nationwide, Republican candidates fell short with independent voters, but in Florida, nearly two-thirds of independent voters cast a ballot for DeSantis. A Rasmussen poll commissioned by my firm demonstrated that DeSantis’ agenda — expeditiously opening of businesses and schools during the pandemic, empowering parents when it comes to their children’s education; low-regulation, pro-business climate; re-routing Florida-bound migrants; and a generally pro-freedom posture — resonated widely across the political spectrum.

Even in historically blue South Florida, crossover Democrats and independents flocked to DeSantis on Nov. 8. He won Miami-Dade by 11% and closed the gap in Broward to about 90,000 votes. Hispanic voters in both counties overwhelming supported the governor.

Moreover, unlike states like Pennsylvania where the GOP failed to appreciate the necessity of playing by today’s new rules, DeSantis responded to the rhythms of early voting. The new reality is that campaigns can no longer peak on Election Day. With early and mail-in voting, a political campaign must be sustained earlier and longer than before. In Pennsylvania, a large percentage of votes already were cast even before the Senate candidates squared off in debate. By the time of the debate, the Democrat, John Fetterman, had already built a solid lead with nearly a million Democratic votes via early votes, which Mehmet Oz simply could not overcome. Unlike Pennsylvania, Florida Republican early voters outpaced Democrats by nearly 500,000 votes cast.

The DeSantis campaign was not about reinventing the candidate, but solely communicating the governor’s achievements. Early and Election Day voters saw the same person, the same candidate as governor with the same messaging consistent with actions taken over four years as governor. Florida voters recognized that there was little distinction between DeSantis running for his job and simply doing his job.

It didn’t hurt that voter demographics in Florida voter registration, since 2018, flipped by 600,000 and now favor Republican by 300,000. Florida Republicans enjoyed the 1,000-per-day relocating to our state — mostly red-leaning voters. This increase in Republican voters in Florida was contrary to transplanted left-leaning Californians relocating to states such as Arizona and Nevada.

Given the individual strengths of DeSantis and Sen. Marco Rubio, the proxy war between Biden and Trump played no real role in this election cycle in Florida. However, nationally the proxy candidates of both Biden (Democrats generally) and Trump netted a slight advantage for the Democrats. Given the closeness of some of these races, that advantage was the margin of victory in places like Arizona. The Senate race there had the Republican candidate and Trump proxy, Blake Masters fall short by 5% points.

While some other states’ races became a referendum on a figure not even on the ballot, in Florida — neither Biden nor Trump were a factor — the contest was purely a referendum on the incumbent. DeSantis’ record of excellence in governance also blunted any “proxy issue” resulting in a runaway election.

All of this naturally leads to the next question: will — and should — DeSantis’ victory correspond to crowds’ chants of “Two more years?”

The view here: If this year’s big winner really does have his eyes on the big prize, the best way to get there is, simply, more bold governing. Sure the election night scoreboard was a big win for Florida’s governor, but better yet, check the scoreboard from the past four years. For Floridians, it’s important to keep governing boldly through the upcoming legislative session.

Florida was the model for conducting a fair and prompt elections, resulting in a tally of 8 million-plus votes in about five hours. Florida must continue to be the model for the nation in this, and all areas.

As the governor proclaimed, “We’ve got a lot more to do, and I have only begun to fight.”

Edward J. Pozzuoli is the president of the law firm Tripp Scott, based in Fort Lauderdale.